Shards of Grail
by UnknownValor
Summary: The Grail has reawoken in the form of shards. Each shard is capable of bringing seven servants into the Holy Grail War and choosing seven masters. How many shards are there? And what chaos will ensue? A rewrite of my first fanfic: "Fate/Supremacy".


**_Fate/Supremacy {Shards of Grail}_**

 **Welcome y'all! To my rewrite of Fate/Supremacy! I thought that there were too many things in my original story that left the reader either confused or left the story inaccurate in regards to the environment of the Fate/World. There are some things that I would like to change in the storyline itself also to help it to move along better and give the reader a clearer understanding of the story that I am trying to portray. While I certainly don't claim to be anything more than an amateur in writing, I was (in fact) pretty proud of this particular chapter. I achieved about double the words of my first chapter and used a couple of settings to explain some aspects of my story down the road. Anyways, sorry for rambling--enjoy!**

 _Following the events of Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works--Two and a Half Years Later:_

Rin Tohsaka leaned in close to him as they walked through the cheery park. Little flowers were in bloom and the walkways were all neatly swept because of the spring weather. Songbirds could be heard in every which way all around them as they strode through the ruins of the once magnificent castle.

 _He_ , of course, was entranced with the whole "adventure", Rin was focused only on him. His hair, his eyes--maybe the way he smiled at the two small children running around swordfighting with twigs.

They had to come here one last time, pay their last respects to the girl who turned their world upside down. Well, pay their respects to the only one who even _had_ a grave to pay respects to.

Her grave was a simple affair, just a wooden sign and a small be of yellow and purple flowers lined with stones. Realistically, however, the former king wasn't even buried here but taken by boat to some other unknown land where she made the choice to become a Heroic Spirit and would later become a Servant in the Holy Grail Wars.

Rin thought back to the last war, the blood and the...waste. No one had won and everyone lost in some way--most losing their lives or worse. This hadn't bothered _him_ , of course, he had not fought for gain or glory. What had bothered him was the devastation that the war had brought to Fuyuki and the people.

Rin curled an arm around his as he bowed his head at her grave. "Shirou--" she began.

"I never expected to see her again," he said gruffly, "But I had hoped that...somehow--she would have...left a sign or--"

She thought she saw a tear run down his cheek, a shimmering star that traced a line to his jaw and fell to the earth at the base of that humble sign.

"Shirou," Rin repeated, turning his face to her's with a gentle but insistent hand, "Let's go home."

Hours passed and the sun dropped below the edge of the horizon, the two were gone and so were the many tourists that had visited the once sacred halls of Camelot. Stars twinkled in the distance and slowly the sun rose once more, a red ball painting the sky in splendid hues of red and orange.

The grave of King Arthur lay still and silent beneath the stars. A girl lay on the quiet rectangle, asleep upon the flowerbed. A majestic sheath between her hands and a flower intertwined between her thumb and finger.

Arturia lay quiet and still as the stones and rocks that surrounded her. A light who shone as brightly as the Northern Star a sea of darkness.

The sun rose higher, and the sky brightened into a blue, the King of Knights disappeared along with the night sky.

\--

The travel home to Fuyuki was long and exhausting, the continuous line of clouds that had been beautiful to behold from the window of the plane now barely registered in Rin's brain as a substance to acknowledge.

Rin thought back to their decision to leave, they were going to fulfill Shirou's dream. Forge a world where no child grew up fatherless and no one faced a day of hunger.

His dream which sounded so lofty to Rin, they were finally doing it. She wondered if he had a plan for what he would do or if he would follow his usual pattern and merely help everyone he could along the way. Somehow Rin doubted that Archer had become a warrior by helping cats out of trees and leading old ladies across streets.

At some point, Rin surmised, an event of some sort had ignited his burning passion for all justice enough for him to be willing to fight on behalf of all mankind and become resigned to injury and slaughter as a means to his end.

"Shirou?" Rin asked him suddenly.

Shirou distractedly looked up from the British book that he had been intently reading, a larger book entitled _Lord of the Rings_. How he had managed to learn English as easily as he had still irked Rin to some degree. She suspected that his well-travelled father, Kiritsugu Emiya must have at least introduced him to some of the basics of the language. Shirou, for his part, remained faithfully quiet on the matter altogether--refusing to tell her how he had come to learn English.

Shirou _"hmm-ed"_ half-heartedly, still engrossed in the leather bound artifact.

"Shirou!" Rin cried irritatedly, "I'm trying to say something!"

Shamefacedly, Shirou closed the book, looking rather like a small child being scolded by a parent. "I'm sorry Rin!" he apologized quickly, "I guess I just got to far into the book and..."

It was hard to stay mad at him for long when he just kept on going. "Okay, okay!" Rin held her hands up to block anymore apologies from him. "I just wanted to ask you, what is your plan when we get to Fuyuki? I mean, I know you want to become a Hero of Justice and all, but--what is going home going to do?"

Shirou shrugged his shoulders, "I-, I guess I don't really know. I just have this feeling that I need to...go home, you know what I mean?"

"No," Rin shook her head slowly, "Not really, but if home is where you need to go--then I will follow. You're doing the deciding now, _Hero_!"

Shirou blushed, "Don't--don't call me that! I'm not a Hero until I've done something worth the title, I haven't earned that right yet."

"You're right," Rin agreed with a smile, "Besides, Heroes don't have--ticklish spots!" she tickled an area right below his armpit, eliciting an uncontrolled snort from the surprised boy.

They landed soon afterwards in the Fuyuki airport. A large bus bearing the legend: _Conquerer Travel_ was parked at the far left exit near a clump of dwarf trees.

Shirou held both bags in his right hand while keeping a couple thousand Yen in his left. "For the bus driver," he said. Rin rolled her eyes at that, waving a bus pass in front of his face.

The driver himself was a very boisterous man--regailing them with tales of bear hunts in America. "I learned a lot from that far distant land!" he exclaimed at one point, "Commerce is true might! Without that you have as much strength as the runt of a litter! Unwanted and helpless!"

Small, distantly familiar rows of houses flew past. Rin lay her head on to Shirou's shoulder, her eyes closing a little. For now, all was right with the world. She was with with Shirou and they were both back in the closest thing either of them had to a home. Almost, anyway.

A familiar voice shattered her peaceful musings in a tiny moment: "Rin," it said quietly, "Look outside."

Startled, Rin's head collided with Shirou's chin as she shot to the window.

"Tohsaka!" Shirou cried, shocked, "Tohsaka, what--what's wrong?"

Rin didn't answer, there he was. His scarlet coat fluttering around his bodyarmor in the wind. He was standing there, staring at the bus.

"Bus driver! Stop...I said stop!" Rin called impatiently.

The bus ground to a decidedly unsafe halt and the driver hastily opened the doors.

"Tohsa-ka!" Shirou called after the figure that shot out of the bus, wearily. He collected the bags and stumbled to the front, smiling apologetically.

The driver, for his part, grinned good-naturedly. "It happens all the time, son. I'll wait for you."

"Archer!" Rin shouted, rushing up to him.

The man raised a hand, not speaking but grimaced, clearly in pain. Rin noticed a long golden spear embedded in his side. Blood dripped gruesomely from the wound.

"I have but little time, Rin. Take this--" Archer pressed a hard object into her palm. "The Shards of the Grail are trying to reform--the result is another war...you can't do this alone or even with..." Archer hacked uncontrollably, blood ran down his chin.

Archer regained control, but his body was shimmering like lakewater in the sun. "Destroy the Grail, you cannot allow the Lancer to..." Archer began to cough again, the hacking driving him to his knees, he looked up from his position, staring into her eyes, "Don't let it change...Fate."

"Archer..." his form dissipated into the wind, wisps of smoke all that was left to prove his existence.

Rin backed away into a lightpole, sliding down its side. What had he meant, to not let it "change Fate?" Rin shook her head, too many questions. He had done what he had really wanted, Rin thought, opening her hand. A worn bullet lay in the palm of her hand.

A catalyst, she thought. But to whom, she had no idea. There were countless warriors who were likely fit to be heroic spirits who had likely used a thousand bullets just like this.

This one is special, Rin concluded, Archer would only give me exactly what I needed--somehow, this bullet leads to exactly the servant that I need.

"What am I thinking!" she said out loud, how can I seriously be accepting that I am going to fight _another_ Grail War--especially without the preparation that I need!

A hand touched her shoulder, "I don't know what you're thinking Rin. Tell me what Archer said, and I will help." Shirou said.

Rin smiled faintly, even though he couldn't see. In lieu of preparation, Shirou and her brains would have to be enough.

 **Please, please, please--Review! That really helps me to know what y'all think of my story and helps me to understand what I can be doing better. Reviews also have a strange moral boosting quality to them, even negative ones. Sounds strange, but is true.**

 **AS ALWAYS, I DO NOT OWN THE FATE FRANCHISE, ITS CHARACTERS, OR ANYTHING ELSE. THIS IS JUST A FANFICTION FOLKS! BESIDES, IF I DID OWN IT, WHY WOULD I BE WRITING HERE RATHER THAN AT THE STUDIO AND MAKE SOME $$$? OF COURSE, BECAUSE THEY ARE JAPANESE IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE YEN.**


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